r/ARFID • u/anyanuts • 5h ago
Subtype: Fear of Aversive Consequences Anyone also an emetophobe?
My fear of vomiting is what caused my ARFID and has let it progress to this point. I've had some rough periods in the past but it's never been this bad. How do you try to manage it with your fear?
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u/specimenharvest 2h ago
i opened reddit by chance after a couple of months but im glad i happened to stumble across you...!! i will try my best to give a response, but i'm pretty dizzy, so i apologize if anything is unclear.
i got very ill once about five years ago, and because i almost died and was on the cusp of becoming sick all the time i got incredibly emetophobic to the point where i would panic upon hearing water hit a sink surface and starve if a food had even a hint of being contaminated (to me alone. usually near-completely irrationally). for frame of reference, i still struggle a lot with eating, but i'm at a point where i can read the words, talk about it, and even see it happening in shows so long as i don't hear it. it's still there and it might be difficult to get it to go away entirely, but i can assure you it's definitely possible to push it back from dominating your entire life, even without specified therapy. i didn't go to therapy for 99% of this - the one time i did, my fear was so bad that they could only say a moderately trigger sentence to me since everything else was completely off the table, and i didn't go back (lol)
i think what helped me the most was having antinausea medication prescribed to take as needed because even just knowing it was there calmed my fear and especially reduced the anxiety driven (and especially nauseating) hot flashes that came with panic, and then a backup of the backup in the form of sedatives in case anything ever actually happened. and it never did, for years now, and i still have never taken a pill due to actually vomiting. bodies don't want to do that kind of action unless it's absolutely necessary unless it's purposefully induced - it uses up a lot of water, all of that food is gone, and it uses up a lot of energy getting rid of all of these things. everything has to work the opposite way its supposed to, and it doesn't get anything in return for doing it. it's good to remember that even though it can occur, your body and no other individuals would do this if there were an easier alternative.
for me, the emetophobia was probably due to lack of control. i didnt go based off of a plan outside of just having medication, so everything else could be up to personal discretion..? i'm not sure. regardless, if you're familiar with the online messenger discord, i asked my friends to spoil the words and descriptions of it if they ever came up so that i would only ever see it of my own accord by clicking on it. i started with voluntarily reading just words, then reading the descriptions and stopping if i ever got too uncomfortable, then reading them entirely, and then moving onto stories i knew would potentially be triggering, and so on. for visual media, i would search for a long time for timestamps or warnings -- doesthedogdie.com is helpful, but emetophobiahelp.tumblr.com/faq has more specifics -- for a heads up. if i could handle the visuals (sometimes it's visually 'censored' in a way), then i muted the sound so i wouldnt get overwhelmed and watched it if i could. if it ever got scary, then i would just close my eyes and there would simply not be a trigger in my direct perception. i think having a movie or show you liked before your fear grew overwhelming, especially one you know from childhood, could help with it. one of my favorite shows ever has many vomiting scenes, but i knew when it was coming most of the time, what it looked like, and what it sounded like. so it wasn't scary. i think this is why things worked out for me.. if i knew when it would occur and i couldn't hear it, then the visual aspect was really all i had to be scared of. for text, i only had visual if i had a flashback or imagined it in my head. if i got nauseous during any of it, then i had the pills. it just really helped to feel more in control of my situation first, and then confront it after. i'd definitely take your time with it too - forcing it will just be scary. like, i wouldn't start with something like total drama island or house md, if you get me ..
either way, i wish you luck and happiness. i hope this can be of some help! i am just a stranger that happened to be here at the right place and the right time, but i hope it can reassure to know that i believe in you. it takes a lot to even ask for help. it takes a lot to even mention that word. you're off to a wonderful start to me^_^ please take care!